The Lady or the Tiger?
by Amy Cahill09
Summary: Lucy had to chose. His fate was in her hands. Would she feed her love to the vicious tiger or hand him over to the lovely maiden, Lisanna? It was hard for Princess Lucy to chose. She loved him! The decision was so hard. Finally, she decided and pointed to the right when no one was watching her except for him, her lover Natsu. AU.Based off of The Lady or The Tiger by Frank Stockton
1. The Lady or The Tiger

The Lady or the Tiger?

In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. This king was known as Jude Heartfilia. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places.

Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured.

But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance.

When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena, a structure which well-deserved its name, for, although its form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy, and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.

When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the enclosed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate.

But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair stood, side by side, and the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals, the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home.

This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty, and, if innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not. There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena.

The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days, they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained. Thus, the masses were entertained and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no charge of unfairness against this plan, for did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands?

This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. Her name was Lucy Heartfilia. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in this entire kingdom, and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong. Her lover's name was Natsu Dragneel. This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day King Jude happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. Natsu was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important occasion, and his majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of the king, Lucy Heartfilia. In after years such things became commonplace enough, but then they were in no slight degree novel and startling.

The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. Of course, everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. Natsu had loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor anyone else, thought of denying the fact; but King Jude would not think of allowing any fact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of, and King Jude would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events, which would determine whether or not Natsu had done wrong in allowing himself to love Lucy.

The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered, and thronged the great galleries of the arena, and crowds, unable to gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin doors, those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity.

All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party opened, and Natsu walked into the arena. Tall, beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonder Lucy loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there!

As Natsu advanced into the arena he turned, as the custom was, to bow to King Jude, but he did not think at that entire royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon Lucy, who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there, but her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment that the decree had gone forth that Natsu should decide his fate in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but this great event and the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done what no other person had done - she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms, that lay behind those doors, stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front, and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise or suggestion should come from within to the person who should approach to raise the latch of one of them. Gold, and the power of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the Lucy.

Not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of Natsu, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far above him; and Lucy hated her. This damsel's name was Lisanna Stratus. Often had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon Natsu, and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived, and even returned. Now and then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most unimportant topics, but how could she know that? Lisanna was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of Lucy; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.

When Natsu turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door crouched the tiger, and behind which stood Lisanna. He had expected her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to King Jude. The only hope for Natsu in which there was any element of certainty was based upon the success of Lucy in discovering this mystery; and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would succeed.

Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: "Which?" It was as plain to Lucy as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another.

Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but Natsu saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena.

He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it.

Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did Lisanna?

The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess we know as Lucy Heartfilia, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost Natsu, but who should have him?

How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild horror, and covered her face with her hands as she thought of Natsu opening the door on the other side of which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger!

How much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth, and torn her hair, when she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of Lisanna! How Lucy's soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to meet that woman, with her flushing cheeks and sparkling eye of triumph; when Lisanna had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells; when Lucy had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and make them man and wife before Lucy's very eyes; and when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned!

Would it not be better for Natsu to die at once, and go to wait for Lucy in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity?

Yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood!

Lucy's decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right.

The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door – the lady or the tiger?


	2. Decision: The Lady

The Lady

Lucy watched as Natsu opened the door. She couldn't look away as Lisanna ran to him and encircled him in her arms. How he looked lovingly at her and kissed her forehead. Natsu was beyond pleased even though it wasn't her. The princess couldn't stand to see her beloved in another girl's arms. Tortured by the smile on her lover's face, she dug her nails into her dress.

How could he do such a thing to her? Torture her so much and not once look at her. Lucy knew that she had chosen for him to be with Lisanna, but she didn't think this would happen. Her heart was being torn apart, shattered, and stomped upon like trash.

Did she even mean anything to Natsu? Then, Nastu looked to her. She looked into his eyes and saw his true feelings. Happiness for a second chance at life, that was all for her to see. Doing her best to send a small smile his way, she stood up and walked up.

Lucy could no longer watch the happiness of her lover when he was with another woman. The princess walked home silently. Several hours later, she sat in the garden alone. Her love was no longer by her side. Lucy no longer had a person to share her love with. Hearing footsteps, Lucy turned around to see Lisanna.

"Princess Lucy, I came to speak with you. I must thank you greatly, for Natsu told me that you knew which door I was behind," the beautiful damsel said, "Thank you ever so much for allowing Natsu to be with me. I know how much you love him. I am very sorry to ask this of you, but would you please be my maid of honor at the wedding tomorrow? I know that usually people of royal blood don't participate in commoner weddings but…"

Lisanna then stopped before looking up and smiling, "Forget my request please, I realize how cruel it would be to go to your lover's wedding when it is not with you."

As Lisanna went to walk off, Lucy stood up and smiled, "No… It's okay. If you would allow me to be your maid of honor Lisanna, I would be greatly honored. I wish to be happy on Natsu's wedding day even though it is not with me. So, if the offer still stands, I would love to be your maid of honor."

A smile plastered itself onto the damel's face as she hugged the princess close, "Thank you ever so much Princess Lucy, I promise you won't regret it!"

The damsel that would marry the princess' lover then ran off. Lucy stood there and smiled sadly. Looking down at her hands, she took a silver hand off of her left ring finger, "Thank you for those lovely times together, Natsu. You always cheered me up and stayed by my side, so I will do the same. Although, please allow me to be a bit selfish and keep this ring you gave me…"

Lucy then broke down into tears. Covering her face with her arm, she did her best to keep her sobs quiet. She had chosen for Natsu to have Lisanna, for she wished to see her lover still alive. Lucy knew it would hurt and she knew that she would never see her love again. He would be married to another woman. Maybe Natsu would forget about her and truly fall for Lisanna. Even though it hurt Lucy deeply, she was happy to know that he would live.

"Goodbye my love…" Lucy mumbled, clutching the ring in her hand.


	3. Decision: The Tiger

The Tiger

Lucy watched as Natsu walked to the right and opened the door. Oh, how she dreaded to watch as the lion pounced onto Natsu. She could hear his screams as it ripped him apart and bit him. Blood and body parts were everywhere. That wasn't what broke her though; it was his cries for help. Natsu cried out for her, begging her to come and save him.

Lucy couldn't watch. She betrayed him and fed him to the tiger, yet he still called for her. Natsu still loved her. Oh, how her heart ached and broke to pieces. Natsu, her love and life, must have believed that she had been given wrong information.

She stood up abruptly and left the stadium. Lucy could no longer see her lover be ripped into pieces due to the decision she had made. Natsu still wanted to be by her side, she should have known that. Lucy had been selfish though and had decided that if she could not be at Natsu's side, then no one could.

The princess knew that Lisanna was behind her door crying. Hearing the screams of her would have been husband, Lucy knew that any girl would cry. Deep down inside, Lucy knew that Lisanna loved Nastu. She should have known of the pain Lisanna would feel. Instead of being jealous, Lucy should have thought deeper.

Lucy should have chosen for Natsu to stay at Lisanna's side. For even though she would never see him, feel his touch, or have him whisper sweet nothings in her ear, he would still be alive. Natsu would have been alive and breathing. She should have never doubted his love for her, but she did.

It had hurt Lucy, knowing that her love would eventually forget her. That she would never again be in his thoughts. The princess looked at her left hand to see a small silver band on her right finger. He had proposed to her, but now that would never be fulfilled. Her one dream would never be fulfilled.

Sure, one day she would be married off to a man. That man would not be Natsu though. She only loved Natsu. She only had eyes for him, no one else. If she married another man, all she would see would be Natsu. Lucy would never be able to look at the man she was wedded of to and see him, the only person she would see would be Natsu. Her dear love Natsu.

Unfortunately, the decision had been made. Lucy could not turn time back. Even if she could, she knew the same decision. Finding herself in her room, she reached into her vanity. Pulling out a small knife, she looked in the mirror.

Soon… Soon Lucy would join her love in the world after death. Closing her eyes, she put the cold metal to her throat and, in one swift motion, slit her throat. In her last moments, all she could think about was how she would once again be with her beloved.


End file.
